


Aftermath

by aphrodite (cabinseventy)



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canonical Character Death, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Past Character Death, Post-The Trials of Apollo, Slight AU lol, Talking, idk if its a spoiler because it was like years ago???
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-15
Updated: 2018-11-15
Packaged: 2019-08-24 02:01:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16630736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cabinseventy/pseuds/aphrodite
Summary: Jason and Leo reflect on Leo's death a bit.





	Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> hmm it's not what you think it is
> 
> let's just say they were a "thing" before all *this* happened...

Leo finds himself in a lull of the conversation and sits quietly, staring at Jason. He’s aware it’s rude to stare, but Jason doesn’t seem to mind.

“How’s camp treating you?” Jason tries to fill up the silence.

At first, Leo hesitates, because he’s satisfied with the silence, and he’s not sure how Jason would react to his answer. “It’s… good.”

“Just good?” Jason raises his left brow. “Come on, tell me more. I would kill to be at CHB with you and Piper all the time.”

Leo’s eyes slide off of Jason and focus on the background behind him. The sun barely rising, sending colorful light across the ocean, and the wind spraying them with a light mist. Leo’s hands dig into the sand of Camp Half Blood’s beach. “My cabin has been giving me some time after the whole-” He struggles to find the right words for Jason to understand, “- _death_ thing.”

“Understandable,” Jason says. He spreads his legs out in front of him. “We all thought you were gone forever.”

Leo winces, memories of his own death coming back to him. “Yeah. I know.”

Jason sighs. “Have I ever told you that you’re crazy? Since when was dying the right way to do something?”

For a second, Leo’s mouth flops open, and he can’t respond. He then closes his jaw and grits his teeth. He lifts his hand and watches the sand pour out between his fingers.

“You never talk about it,” Jason brings up. “Why not?”

“I don’t know. It doesn’t seem like something that needs to be talked about.” Leo can’t look Jason in the eyes. “I died, and I came back. It’s literally that simple.”

“You came back _6 months later_ , with a _Titan_ on your back. How is that in anyway simple?”

Leo stays silent. Jason sighs again when he realizes he’s not going to get an answer and gazes out to the waves in front of them.

Leo’s not sure what to do. He hasn’t talked about what happened in a while, but he probably should. Keeping feelings locked up inside is a bad thing, right?

“Fine,” Leo relents. Jason turns his head at the sound of his voice. “I’ll tell you whatever you want.”

Jason looks nearly excited. Leo supposes it’s his own fault- perhaps he _should’ve_ talked about his death a long time ago. “Start from the beginning. Who knew?”

“That I was going to sacrifice myself?” Leo grimaces. “Frank and Hazel.”

Jason frowns. “And they didn’t do anything to stop you?”

“I think they tried to tell me not to do it, but I had my mind set,” Leo says, disgusted. “Gods, I was so stupid back then.”

“You were. You should’ve told me and Piper. We could’ve helped.”

Leo rubs his eyes, as an uncomfortable feeling arises in his stomach. “Next question.”

Jason’s lips twitch, but he doesn’t say anything about Leo’s hesitance to answer. “… Did it hurt?”

“Which part? Blowing up or being stabbed by the needle?”

“Everything.”

Leo lays back in the sand. “Not really. There was this fireball coming to me with Octavian, remember? And Gaea was there too. So I felt a lot of heat, you know? Like everything was on fire, but I could actually _feel_ it. But I wouldn’t say it _hurt_.”

“Oh.” Jason falters. “When you died, it was like you were there and then you _weren’t_. Everything was happening so quickly, and then Piper turned to look at me and went ‘ _Where’s Leo_ ’- I kind of just _knew_ what you did.”

Leo bites down on his tongue to keep from speaking. He volunteered to chat to Jason like this. Jason should be able to speak his mind.

“I’m sorry,” Leo tries.

Jason regards him solemnly. “I know.”

Leo sniffs, wiping his eyes. “I should’ve gotten help instead of- instead of just doing it.” He sits up.

“You should’ve.” Jason agrees. He reaches out to touch Leo. “Please don’t cry, Leo.”

Leo pulls away before Jason can touch him. “There’s sand in my eyes.”

Jason’s put off by the way Leo shrugged him off, but he tries to ignore it. His hand drops into his lap. “It’s _okay_ to cry, but it’s been too long. I remember Piper and me sobbing over you for _weeks_.”

Leo’s shoulders shake. “I can imagine.” He knows _exactly_ what Jason’s talking about.

Jason smiles sadly. “There was this one time where Percy came into my cabin and said something like ‘ _Stop crying, Leo’s fine_ ,’ and it just made me cry even harder.”

“I know,” Leo bows his head. Jason bites his lip. His hand hovers over Leo’s, ready to console.

Leo shivers, pulling away again. “Jason…”

“I don’t know what I would’ve done if you were dead for real,” Jason says sincerely. He watches the rising sun, wistful look in his eyes. “Jason and Leo, right? How sad is just Jason?”

“Jason, I’m sorry, I should’ve- I should’ve been there,” Leo sobs. He furiously tries to wipe away his snot and tears with his sleeves, but it’s to no avail. “I should’ve said something- _goodbye_ or _I love you, Jay_.”

Jason turns to him, still smiling. “It’s okay. You didn’t know. You thought you were doing good.”

Leo tries his best to smile back. “I’m so _dumb_. Dumb ol’ Leo, right?”

“You’re not dumb. You’re one of the smartest people I know.”

“I’m not like you,” Leo murmurs. “I’m not the hero who saves the day. You’re too unselfish for your own good.”

“I’m plenty selfish.”

Leo licks his lips. His hand skirts closer to Jason’s resting in the sand, but keeps a few centimeters away. Close but not close enough. Leo feels cool emanating from Jason’s hand and aches to touch it. But it wouldn’t be right. It wouldn’t feel right- especially now, he shouldn’t do it now.

“I remember coming back with Festus,” Leo says softly. “And you just weren’t there.”

“Yeah?” Jason snorts. “I was in school by then.”

“No,” Leo looks up at Jason. He sniffs and waves a hand through Jason’s body, dissipating the image. “You weren’t.”

“Leo?” Jason jerks forward, frantically trying to hug Leo, as his body dissolves into the air. “What-”

“Sh,” Leo sobs. He makes no attempt to hug him back. “I love you so much, Jason. I love you _so_ much.”

When Jason’s mirage is wholly gone, Nico opens his eyes. He stares at Leo curiously.

“I don’t want to hear it, Di Angelo.” Leo wraps his arms around his knees. “I know. I’m pathetic.”

“That’s not what I was going to say,” Nico creeps closer to Leo, taking the place of Jason. Under the sun he looks healthy, the days spent at Camp Half Blood treating him well. Leo’s sure he’s the opposite- every day he continues to stay here, it’s as if the world grows bleaker. “Were you and Jason involved?”

“Something like that,” Leo says. He drops his chin on his arms, staring at the vast waters in front of him. “It’s complicated.”

“I assumed as much,” Nico says. He looks ahead, trying to catch what Leo’s staring at. He sees nothing but the beach. “You can’t keep doing this, Leo. Jason needs to rest.”

“I haven’t said goodbye yet.”

“You’re _choosing_ not to say goodbye. He hasn’t been accepted into the Elysium yet because I’m calling for him every day for you.”

Leo’s fingers drum against his arms, a nervous habit rearing its ugly head. A Morse Code message that Leo refuses to translate for fear of what it could reveal. “That’s not fair.”

“It’s not fair to Jason. Ghosts deserve to rest.”

“Funny _you’re_ saying that.”

Nico scowls. He stands up, brushing the sand off his jeans. Leo ignores him. “You know. Jason didn’t give up on life when you died. Maybe you shouldn’t either.”

Leo has nothing to say to that. He waits until he hears Nico leaving until he breaks down crying again. His eyes drift to the clear blue sky, as he falls back into the sand.

Leo grew up Catholic. He liked to think that there’s heaven all the way up there, and everyone who’s died looks down and guides them. For some reason, it feels more believable than the Elysium- even though there’s proof of the Underworld. Jason’s would be up there, in the sky where he belonged.

“It’s okay, Jay,” Leo says to himself. The waves echo loudly in his ears. “We’ll see each other soon. Jason and Leo, remember? How sad is just Leo?”

A cloud drifts over Leo as a silent answer. Leo cries.

**Author's Note:**

> slight au in which jason doesn't know he's dead because he hasn't entered the elysium yet
> 
> i've been wanting to write something addressing jason's death for a while now, and this fic. wasn't it. i'm not exactly sure where this idea came from, actually lol.
> 
> have a good day :)


End file.
